Beer & Pretzel Cupcakes

Beer and Pretzel cupcakes- fork required. I know it may sound like an odd coupling, but it’s really such an awesome combination. The pretzels give the whole ensemble a saltiness that balances the rich chocolate ganache frosting and also provides a nice crunch to the softness of the cupcake crumb.

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Beer & Pretzel Cupcakes

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If you are not a beer fan you can easily flip these to be chocolate and caramel pretzel cupcakes (see notes). And of course you don’t have to take the time to chop the pretzels into shards like I did. I just love it like that because they look dramatic.

The first few that I made were simply piped and finished like the Toffee Crunch Cupcakes from here, but that didn’t seem like enough pretzels to me, so I ended up with what you see here. This way the chocolate and caramel pretzel seems so much stronger and you can pick off a few of the shards to enjoy before diving into the cupcake portion.

A few notes:

To make this non-alcoholic, replace the beer with hot coffee.

For the frosting I used my chocolate ganache recipe for a stronger chocolate flavor, but any frosting will work so use your preferred frosting if the ganache frosting is too heavy for you.

To keep things simple spread frosting on top of cupcake and sprinkle with crushed pretzels.

Beer & Pretzel Cupcakes

Preparation: Makes 12 cupcakes | Preparation: Position a rack in the lower third of the oven. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Add flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and mix thoroughly to combine. Add in the butter, eggs, and vanilla and beat on medium speed for one minute. Add 1/4 cup of the beer into the mixture and beat for 20 seconds. Scrape the sides of the bowl and add remaining beer. Beat for 20-30 seconds until the batter is smooth. The batter will be thin enough to pour. Divide it evenly among the lined cups. Bake 18-22 minutes just until a toothpick inserted into a few of the cupcakes comes out clean. Set the pan on a rack to cool. Frost the cupcakes when they are completely cool.

TIP: For light tender cupcakes, spoon flour and cocoa lightly into measuring cups (instead of dipping the cups into the flour or cocoa) and then sweep the measures level without tapping or shaking them.

To make ganache frosting

Bring heavy cream, butter and vegetable oil to a light boil. Pour hot heavy cream mixture over chocolate. Using a spatula gently fold chocolate through heavy cream until well combined. Set aside to cool for at least an two hours or until frosting consistency is acheived. Frosting will thicken as sits.

Assembly:

Pipe frosting on top of cooled cupcake. Cut pretzels into shards and place on top of cupcakes. Drizzle chocoalate and caramel on top.

Naomi, these cupcakes are gorgeous! Love the dramatic shards of pretzel. I don’t usually get too excited about desserts, until I come to your blog! Totally want to make these! Your photos are effortlessly beautiful.. when I grow up, I want to photograph food like you do.

Wish the recipe stated how many ounces of beer rather than just “half”. Also instructions kind of confusing:
ADD THE BUTTER, EGGS AND VANILLA AND BEAT ON MEDIUM SPEED FOR ONE MINUTE and then you say ADD THE BUTTER AND EGG MISTURE AND BEAT FOR 20 SECONDS.
I take it you mean in a “separate bowl” beat the three ingredience and then add to dry mixture. Could be stated better for clarification.

This is a great recipe and I love the contrast of crunchy and soft, and sweet and salty. In my OCD nature, I tried my best to make them look as beautiful as this post but it’s a bit tedious. Plus, as I broke up the pretzel pieces they started to stale quickly. I will definitely try these again with just a few mods. :]

The recipe was a hit and was quite easy to make. I made them for a beer-loving friend’s birthday and for my work-friends. I used store bought semi-sweet chocolate frosting and added a peanut butter coated pretzel on each cupcake.

[…] no longer support itself. Also, there couldn’t be any additional support or toppings – Baker’s Royale made a pretty awesome stack with pretzel pieces, and if I really wanted height I could just make a […]

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Naomi Robinson

Welcome to my cozy corner where baking meets random thoughts and musings. I’m a self-taught baker sharing all things sweet (and some savory—okay, and cocktails) with a whisk in one hand and a camera in the other. More about Naomi »